President Obama on Friday nominated John Kerry as the next Secretary of State
to take over from Hillary Clinton, calling the veteran US senator the
“perfect choice” to take the role of America’s top diplomat

Mr Obama’s first candidate for the job, the US ambassador to the UN, Susan
Rice, withdrew her candidacy in the face of strong Republican opposition.

The appointment of Mr Kerry, a Massachusetts Senator, is likely to be approved
on Capitol Hill as he has support from both Democrats and Republicans.

With Mr Kerry standing at his side, Mr Obama expressed confidence that the
senator would